Strength of Bone
by Evenstar656
Summary: If he had finished his speech a half a second sooner he would've seen the drawn phaser aimed at him, if he would've realized what was happening he could've acted sooner...


Title: Strength of Bone

Author: Evenstar656

Summary: If he had finished his speech a half a second sooner he would've seen the drawn phaser aimed at him, if he would've realized what was happening he could've acted sooner

Spoilers: Star Trek Into Darkness, general AOS, _Selling the Farm_

Disclaimer: The Star Trek franchise and its characters are property of Paramount.

Author's Notes: Goodness, Ellie just would not go away. She kept popping up and I just had to write this for her. I never would've thought I would've continued with an OC, but I've really enjoyed what she brings to these two characters. I switched it up this time…some h/c for Bones and some extra angst Kirk. As a reminder, I am a doctor but not that kind so I happily practice in the fictional world. Please take any inaccuracies with a grain of salt. Enjoy!

_I apologize for any mistakes, this was un-beta'd_

###

He heard the clip of heeled shoes on the tiled floor well before he saw her turn the corner. As always her snow-white hair was pinned in a bun at the back of her head, but this time she was clutching her purse tightly under her arm. He knew she spotted him when the clipping of her shoes picked up. They halted right in front of him.

"How is he?" she asked, her voice surprisingly calm and collected.

A lump formed in his throat, obviously if she was here then it wasn't good.

"He just got back from another surgery. They kicked me out to…"

The cushions of the sofa dipped as she sat down and clasped his shaking hands in between hers. There was strength in her hands and he could feel the warmth and love flowing from her fingers to his. At least he'd had the decency to scrub his hands of the blood that was caked on them before she arrived. It was nauseating enough for him to see his best friend's blood on his hands; he could only imagine what it would like to see your son's blood caked on someone's hands.

He could feel his lip quivering. The warm hands let go of his and pulled him into a crushing hug.

"I'm so sorry, Ellie, that shot was meant for me," he sobbed into the neck that his face fit perfectly into.

"Hush, dear," she rubbed her hand up and down the Captain's back.

"He wasn't supposed to jump in front of me. He's so stupid."

"Has Joanna been told?" she continued to rub Jim's back soothingly.

"She and her mother were vacationing on Geneva III, they left on a transport last night. They'll be here in two days," he tried to reel in the sobbing, but talking only made it worse.

"Where's the rest of the crew?"

"They've tracked the guy to New Boston. They've gone to get him and bring him back to San Francisco. I couldn't…I couldn't go with them. Someone had to be here with him. I doubt I could be useful anyways. If I see that guy I'm going to ram my fist so far down his throat he'd be…"

"I get the picture, young man."

"Sorry, Ellie, I…"

"I understand, Jim."

He closed his eyes and more tears continued to fall down his face and onto Ellie's silk blouse. She sat there taking in all his grief but not showing a single bit herself.

"I'm so sorry for everything."

He could feel Ellie sigh deeply under his chin, "Nonsense, dear. This was not your fault."

"I was the one that should've been hit, not Bones."

"Jim," she pulled out of the hug and looked him squarely in the eyes, "Do not devalue what Leonard did for you with all this guilt. If I was he and I knew you'd be like this I would've let you take it. Buck up, young man. He may die and I will not have your last moments with him ruined, for either of you. Appreciate what he did for you."

"Yes ma'am," he wiped the moisture from his eyes with the sleeve of his dress jacket.

"Captain Kirk?" a young nurse approached them.

He gave her a quick nod.

"Doctor McCoy is settled now, you can return," she gave the two of them a pained smile.

"How is he? I'm his mother," Ellie asked.

"They've completed some more repair work to his liver and pancreas, but Doctor De Luca will be by later to discuss things."

"Thank you dear." She turned to Jim, "C'mon, Jim, let's go see how he is."

Jim took a couple of seconds to put his mask back on and rose to his feet behind Ellie. He didn't know how McCoy always seemed composed around him when he was hanging onto life by a thread; it appeared to be a McCoy trait. Ellie's shoes clipped loudly as they followed the nurse down the hallway to the ICU ward. Jim drew strength from Ellie as she took a deep breath and walked through the door the nurse had stopped at.

It was strange to be the one walking into the room with McCoy on the biobed with dozens of tubes and sensors attached to him. Normally he was the one that was at death's doorstep. There was a gnawing pit in his stomach that kept reminding him that he was the one that was supposed to be in that bed fighting for his life. Ellie had wasted no time going to the chair at her son's bedside while he stood brooding in the doorway. The woman seemed calm and collected but he could see her knuckles turning white from the grip she had on McCoy's hand. He quietly took the chair that was situated in the far corner of the room.

"He's not going to bite, you can come closer," Ellie remarked without turning her head in his direction.

"You never know with him, he could very well spring up and stab me with a hidden hypo for all I know," Jim forced the joke as he pulled the chair up next to her.

He could see a slight upturn in Ellie's mouth, "He only does that to you."

Ellie really was the very image of strength as she studied her son's ashen face and tube riddled body without a single flash of emotion on her face. She could give the Vulcans a run for their credits. Jim followed her eyes as she took in the greying hairs peppering the jet-black hair down to the lips that were parted from the oxygen field forcing breaths into the man's lungs. The blanket was pulled all the way to his collarbones but did nothing to hide the multiple IV lines feeding into his veins or the stabilizers and regenerators attached to his abdomen.

Ellie interrupted the silence that had fallen; "I haven't seen him this sick since he was a little boy."

"What happened?"

"His appendix decided to burst in spectacular fashion. His father and I knew he'd been feeling ill, but he failed to mention and quite convincingly hide the immense pain he was in until he screamed during the middle of the night when it burst. David had bullied his way into staying with him the whole time during his surgery and in recovery. That was the only time I'd seen my husband as scared as he was then. Leonard battled an infection in a room just like this for a week before he finally beat it. I don't know if David was so relieved when he woke up because he was better or so he could fuss him out for hiding all that pain."

Jim couldn't help but chuckle to himself, so that's where McCoy had gotten that particularly annoying trait.

"Needless to say they had a long chat I was not invited to after that."

"Is that when he decided to become a doctor?"

"I think so, David had them preserve what was left of his appendix for him when he woke up. I think it's still in his room somewhere. Apparently that was the coolest thing anyone got him that year."

"Wow…that's so Bones it's not even funny."

Ellie smiled to herself again and moved her hand to run her fingers through her son's hair. The pair of them fell into another silence until a soft buzzing from Jim's pocket broke the peace. He pulled it out quickly to read the message.

"Good news, Spock and a security team have the shooter in custody. He's being transferred to a maximum security facility."

He could see Ellie purse her lips to stop whatever comment she was about to make; she moved her hand down to rub her hand up and down McCoy's uncovered arm. He looked down at himself and realized he was still wearing his blood streaked dress jacket. His fingers fumbled with the neck closure and of course the zipper snagged as he tried to get it off quickly; Ellie had said nothing about the state of his appearance.

"I'm so sorry, Ellie, I didn't realize…" he continued to struggle with the zipper.

She finally turned her head and he saw the first flicker of grief in her eyes. He doubled his efforts to get the jacket off and finally ended up ripping the fabric to free himself. The soiled garment was quickly disposed of in the biotrash chute. She stretched out a hand to his as he returned to his chair.

"Is there anything I can get or do for you? I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, normally I'm the one…"

"Jim, it's okay," she gave the Captain's hand a firm squeeze before letting go.

_This was where Bones got his strength._

Jim was just about to sit down when the door swished open and an extremely young looking Italian doctor walked in. He knew McCoy would be scoffing at this wet-behind-the-ears doctor. Apparently McCoy also got his patented eyebrow arch from his mother, she looked equally suspicious of this doctor too.

"I'm Gio DeLuca," he outstretched his hand to Jim and Ellie. "I operated on Doctor McCoy."

"Where's Boyce?" Jim asked.

"He was called away for a family emergency, but he briefed me on Doctor McCoy's condition thoroughly before leaving. I assure you I'm a surgeon," he must've gotten that a lot.

"How is Leonard?" Ellie got straight to the point.

"Mrs. McCoy?"

Ellie nodded.

"Well, your son suffered a lot of damage to his liver and pancreas. It was fortunate that they weren't outright destroyed by the phaser blast, otherwise we wouldn't be here, but the damage is substantial. We've had to go back in a couple of times now to keep repairing things and now I think our best option is to regrow the organs and transplant them. There's not much of either to salvage but it's too risky to take them out without a replacement ready to go."

"Well then, what are you waiting for?"

"Mrs. McCoy, I've already got the lab started on this, but it'll take several days. Several days that he may not have. We're going to do everything we can to keep him alive long enough to get do the transplant."

Jim could feel the cafeteria coffee he'd choked down earlier threaten to return.

"So there's nothing to do now but wait?" McCoy's were apparently excellent at reading between the lines.

"Yes ma'am."

"What are you going to do in the mean time?" Jim asked.

"Keep him alive and comfortable."

That was the blow they were waiting for. Ellie's grip on her son's arm noticeably tightened.

The doctor was clearly flustered, "I have every bit of confidence this will work as long as he hangs on long enough."

"If anyone can do it, its Bones," Jim said as confidently as he could.

"Thank you Doctor De Luca," Ellie said with a tone that made it clear the young surgeon was no longer welcome and that the conversation was finished.

The young man fluttered out of the room as quickly as he could. Jim honestly tried not to feel guilty, but the thoughts kept popping into his head. He was the one who was supposed to have his organs regrown.

"I can't say I think very much of this young fellow," Ellie returned to face her son.

"I wish Bones would just wake up and take care of this himself. He's the only doctor I'd trust to take care of him."

There was an awkward silence that stretched for hours after that comment. It lasted all the way until the end of visiting hours when a quiet nurse informed them that they could return the following morning, and that they would be called back if things deteriorated. Jim tried to protest, McCoy had spent countless hours at his bedside but he guessed that McCoy was only able to get away with it because he was a doctor himself. Captain of the flagship or not, the nurse refused to budge.

"Ellie, you're more than welcome to stay at my apartment. I promise it's clean; it's barely lived in. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me in the past."

"He picked a great friend in you," Ellie stood up and patted Jim's cheek lovingly.

"Well, I wouldn't call it 'picking'. He kind of threw up on me in the shuttle after we met."

He got the McCoy eyebrow arch again.

"I'll have to hear this sometime, dear."

"Yes ma'am."

###

"I had the service come in and clean before we docked yesterday. We had to leave for the reception right afterwards so I haven't been by..." Jim punched in this access code to his apartment.

"I appreciate your hospitality, young man."

The door swished open and he entered first carrying Ellie's bag. A faint aroma of cleaner tickled his nose when he crossed into his living room.

"Lights."

As usual, the tastefully decorated apartment was spotless with no visible signs of constant occupation. Everything was exactly where he remembered them, untouched and unused. Even his antique chess set sat on the coffee table waiting to be used, and a folded bicycle sat in the corner waiting to be ridden.

"I'm impressed, mister," Ellie stood analyzing everything.

He couldn't help but lift the corner of his mouth, "Not the bachelor pad you were expecting?"

"This is a very respectable home, you should be proud of it."

The tips of his ears were reddening, "Thank you, Ellie, it means a lot coming from you. My real home is currently docked at Starbase 1. You can have the bedroom; I'll take the sofa." He took her luggage to his room and pulled out a set of fluffy towels for her.

"Nonsense, I'm not going to displace you out of your own bed."

"It's yours for as long as you want to stay here. I haven't stocked the kitchen, but I could order something if you're hungry."

There was a flash of sadness, "No thank you, Jim. I think I would just like to rest."

It took him a second to process her statement, but he snapped out of it. "Of course, let me grab my toothbrush and a pillow and I'll be out of your way."

He tried to flash a smile but he knew he failed miserably.

"Goodnight, Ellie," he stood at his bedroom door with a pair of sleep pants, loaded toothbrush, and a pillow clutched in his hands.

"Goodnight, Jim," she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before shutting the door.

He stood there awkwardly for a few moments wanting to do more for her but not knowing exactly what to do. After changing into his sleep pants and brushing his teeth in the kitchen sink, he fell exhaustedly onto the sofa. He grabbed the throw off the back and settled into the soft cushions. Sleep did not come. His body was beyond tired but his mind was racing at warp 5. He couldn't help but analyze every decision and movement he made from the reception. If he had finished his speech a half a second sooner he would've seen the drawn phaser aimed at him, if he would've realized what was happening he could've acted sooner, if he would've realized what Bones was doing, if he would've heard his cry sooner he wouldn't have made a stupid joke about him being on top, _if..._

Exasperated he threw the blanket off himself and rose up to the lone bookshelf in the living room. It held several trinkets from his travels but more importantly it held a bottle of 25-year-old Scotch, courtesy of a certain Scotsman he knew. The unscrewed the lid and pour a generous tumbler full of the amber liquid. He tossed it down his throat in one gulp and tried to hold in a grimace as it burned the entire way down his esophagus. _I can't get drunk, what if they call?_ His thoughts quickly ended his intentions to pour himself another measure. If the crystal tumblers weren't a special gift from Pike he would've smashed them against the wall just to hear the satisfying sound of something breaking.

Growling at himself silently he padded back to the sofa and plopped down. He rubbed his hand wearily over his face, noting that he was overdue for a shave. _Is this what it's like when you wait for me? _Giving up, he laid back down bringing the throw back over himself. It was a few degrees cooler than he kept his cabin on the ship and his lack of shirt was not helping. The remote to his holovision was laying in the coffee table at an arm's reach. He tabbed on the system and lowered the volume. The news stations were still covering the shooting and would show him finishing his speech and then McCoy tackling him to the ground before the reporter would come back to say a few words about the arrest in New Boston and request for privacy from Starfleet as to the injured officer's condition. He managed to find an old 21st century sci-fi flick for background noise. After staring at the ceiling for an indeterminate amount of time his brain was finally yielding to the exhaustion felt by the rest of his body. His eyelids were suddenly weighted down and would no longer stay up, sending him into a nightmare-riddled sleep.

###

There was a noise coming from his kitchen and his eyes snapped open. After shaking the sleep from his brain he realized Ellie was in his apartment. He glanced at the time on the still active holovision, 0502 hours. Trying to go back to sleep was going to be a fruitless endeavor so he gave up and threw the blanket off. From the sound of things Ellie was making coffee; he rose up and wiped the sleep from his face.

"I hope I didn't wake you, dear," Ellie looked slightly guilty with her normally pinned hair flowing over her robe.

"It was inevitable, I wasn't sleeping well. Did you manage to rest some?" he padded to the kitchen table and sat down.

Ellie gave a pained smile as she placed a kettle on the stove, "As much as I could."

He could only nod.

"I see I've converted you," Ellie held up the French coffee press she'd found in his cabinets.

"I learn from the best."

There was a small upturn of the woman's lips, "Good answer. It'll be ready soon. Would you like breakfast? I'm sure I can whip something up with what you have here."

The mere thought of food made his stomach queasy, "No ma'am. I don't think I could eat."

Ellie's eyebrow arch was sickeningly familiar, "Would you like to rethink that?"

If he thought McCoy's glare was intense, his mother's was absolutely frightening.

"Uh, sure."

"Good," Ellie was already pulling out supplies from his cabinets.

He felt much better after two stacks of the best pancakes he'd ever had. Cooking breakfast seemed to have been the thing Ellie needed; worrying if the pancake was golden enough to flip took her mind off the fact that her only son was fighting for his life.

"Much more of this and I won't fit into my uniform," Jim lazily rubbed his very full stomach.

"You need some meat on your bones, young man. Don't worry, when Leonard comes home I'll fatten both of you back up."

She'd said the "L" word and suddenly things were sad again. A glance at the chronometer on the oven unit showed that they still had several hours before visiting hours started.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to grab a quick shower so I'll be out of your way," he needed to get out of there.

"Jim, this is your home. I don't want you to feel displaced," Ellie's hazel eyes softened.

"Ellie, I know what I feel, and I can't even imagine what's going on in your head. I want you to do or take whatever you need. I can't fix Bones, but I can make your time here easier. I'm returning the hospitality you showed me when I needed it."

The woman had left the kitchen and was standing face to face with the infamous Captain. She took his face in her hands and pushed up on her toes to leave a delicate kiss on the lightly stubbled cheek.

"He's good to have you as a friend."

Jim could only nod, but even that movement was threatening to break what little resolve he was using to hold his tears back.

"Go take a nice hot shower, it won't take me long to get ready when you're finished."

He nodded, his face still in between strong hands. She gave his cheek a reassuring pat before pulling her hands back and retreating to the kitchen.

A long hot shower did do him wonders. The searing water melted the muscles that had knotted themselves up from a lack of sleep. Stepping out of the stall, he quickly dressed in civvies and ran a comb through his damp hair. He managed to put on his shoes while brushing his teeth.

"Feel better?" Ellie asked him from his sofa as soon as he stepped out of his room.

"Yes ma'am, it's all yours now."

He tried to smile as she walked past him, but they both knew it was a bad attempt. Being the Southern lady that she was, Ellie returned the smile before leaving him alone in his living room. Luckily the buzzing from his pocket saved him from thinking about it more.

"Kirk here," he flipped open the device.

"_Jim, what is the condition of Doctor McCoy?"_ it was Spock.

"Still the same. They didn't call last night so I'm assuming nothing happened. I'm headed to the hospital soon."

"_Understood. We will be returning to San Francisco on the 1000 shuttle. Are visitors permitted? The crew has been most anxious."_

"Uh, yeah they are. His mom got in last night."

"_How is she fairing?"_

"How do you think she's doing Spock?" he snapped.

"_My apologies, Jim. Please inform her that we will offer any assistance she requires."_

"Sorry, Spock...it's been a long couple of days," he sighed heavily.

"_I understand."_

He pressed the cool plastic against his head, "Look, I'll comm you if there's any news."

"_Yes, Jim. Is there anything you or Mrs. McCoy require?"_

"Besides the obvious?" he snorted.

"_If there is nothing else you require—"_

"That's it Spock. Thank you for everything."

"_You are welcome, Jim."_

He flipped the device shut and rested his head in his hands.

"I'm ready, Jim," Ellie stood with her coat over her arm and her purse in her hands.

###

"Uncle Jim! Uncle Jim!" the ten and three quarter year old came barreling towards him at full speed down the hall with tears streaming down her face.

Joanna McCoy had gotten one look at her favorite uncle pacing in the waiting area with the rest of his crew before ripping her hand from her mother's.

"Shhh," he bent down to catch the child.

He was nearly knocked off his knees as she crashed into him, burying her face in his neck and clutching his shirt.

"It's gonna be okay," he ran his fingers soothingly through her hair.

The child continued to sob uncontrollably in his arms while the senior command crew and her mother watched. He noticed that the two of them were still in the middle of the hallway and several nurses had given him dirty looks as they passed by. He pulled the little girl closer to him and pushed off the ground, carrying her to an open seat next to Uhura and Spock.

"Oh, Joanna," he tucked her head under his chin.

He rubbed her back in circles until the sobbing quieted enough she could speak coherently.

"I want my daddy," she sniffled into his t-shirt.

"I know, you can't go see him unless you calm down," he spoke softly into her ear.

"Where's Nana?"

"She's sitting with your dad."

"I want to see him now!" the girl's lip was quivering.

The poor child was on the verge of hysterics again, he had to act quickly. He took her cheeks in his hands and brought her hazel eyes up to look into his.

"Joanna, listen to me," he spoke calmly. "You need to calm down. The nurses won't let you see him crying like this. I know it's scary, but I need you to be brave. For me and your dad."

"Is he scared?" tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the hands holding them.

"They're giving him medicines to make him sleep, he's not scared at all," he brushed away the tears with his thumbs.

"Momma said it was really bad."

"Have I ever lied to you?" his blue eyes were locked onto hers.

"No, Uncle Jim," she sniffled.

"It is bad, he's very sick right now, but the nurses and doctors are doing everything they can to make him feel better."

He could see Uhura grab onto Spock out of the corner of his eye.

Joanna squeezed her eyes closed, pushing the built up liquid out of them, "Is he going to die?"

"Look at me, Joanna." He waited until the hazel eyes opened again, "He's not going to die. Do you believe me?"

She nodded slowly, "I believe you, Uncle Jim."

"Good, now lets dry those tears."

Uhura was ready with a handful of tissues. He took the bunch and gently wiped the little girl's face. No one else in the room said anything as he held the tissues at her nose for her to blow into them.

"Better?" he tossed the tissues into a nearby wastebasket.

Joanna nodded.

"Okay then, up we go," Joanna climbed off his lap.

She grasped onto his outstretched hand, staying behind him as they made their way down the hallway to her father's room. He stopped at the doorway and bent down to her eye level.

"Remember what I said? I need you to be brave."

Joanna nodded, her knuckles white from the grasp on her favorite uncle's hand.

"It's going to look scary. There'll be lots of tubes and stuff, but remember that they're there to help him. You ready?"

Again she nodded, "I can do this."

"Your Nana and I will be right there with you," he pushed off his knees and led the little girl into the room.

Even he found it unnerving every time he walked into the hospital room to see McCoy lying there motionless, he could only imagine what the ten and three quarter year old was thinking. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and ventured deeper into the room.

"Nana?" Joanna asked in the quietest voice he'd ever heard from a McCoy.

Ellie turned around in the visitor's chair. Joanna refused to go any closer to the bed so Ellie went to her. She bent down and pulled her granddaughter into her arms. Jim noticed that the little girl had refused to let go of his hand and had pulled it with her as she wrapped her arms around her grandmother.

"I'm so happy to see you, dear," Ellie pulled back from the hug.

Joanna was doing her best to not start crying again, "Me too, Nana."

"Did you get here okay? Is your mother here?"

"Yes, Nana."

Ellie waited until Joanna started pulling back before breaking the hug, "Well come on, dear."

Joanna grabbed her grandmother's hand, and the two of them led her to the biobed. McCoy didn't look much different than when he left at the end of visiting hours on the previous day, he was still hanging on for them. His nurse had assured them that everything was on schedule in the lab with his new organs.

Jim let go of Joanna's hand, "It's okay to hold his hand."

The child hesitantly closed the gap between her and her father. He watched anxiously as her hand moved from her side to hovering just over the tube riddled hand.

"Will I hurt him?" Joanna whispered.

"No, dear, you won't hurt him."

Jim released the breath he didn't realize he was holding when Joanna gently rested her small hand on top of her father's larger one.

"Does he know I'm here?" Joanna asked without taking her eyes off McCoy's face.

"Why don't you try talking to him?" Jim put his hand on her shoulder.

"Daddy?" she said quietly before repeating it slightly louder.

Jim could've sworn he saw the readings on the screen above the biobed spike for a brief moment before settling back down.

"Daddy, can you hear me?" her hazel eyes were pleading to her unconscious father. "Daddy, I love you."

The little girl waited for their customary reply of 'I love you more', but it didn't come. McCoy continued to lay there motionless, using every ounce of his energy to hang on for them.

"I was on Geneva III with momma, we were there to ski, but I don't think I like skiing very much. I kept falling all the time. I'm glad I got to come home early. Maybe when you get better we can try skiing again. I bet you're a better teacher than momma..."

The two of them listened to Joanna ramble until her voice finally cracked and she stopped, a dry throat and out of things to say. Jim looked down at his chronometer, noticing that a couple of hours had passed. Visiting hours would be ending soon and they would be asked to leave for the night.

"Is it almost time?" Ellie had seen him look at the time.

"Yes ma'am," Jim replied.

"Time for what?" Joanna turned around without letting go of her father's hand.

"Time to leave for the night, dear."

Jim could see a faint tremble in the little girl's lips, "Don't worry, we can come back first thing in the morning."

"I don't want to leave."

He bent down to her eye level, "We have to, Joanna. It's not good for you to be here so long, and they're going to keep him asleep."

Joanna's knuckles turned white from the grip on McCoy's hand, "What if something happens?"

"Then they'll call us. Joanna, I promise you nothing bad will happen."

The child hesitated before nodding, she trusted her Uncle Jim completely. "Can I stay with you?"

Jim was slightly taken aback by her request, he'd never would've thought that she wouldn't have wanted to stay with her mother.

"Yes ma'am, you may. I only have one bed so you'll have to share with your Nana."

"That's okay," she held up her hand to be taken.

###

"Uncle Jim?"

He peeped an eye open. Joanna was standing red-eyed in front of him in her pajamas.

"Joanna, what's wrong?" he bolted upright off the sofa, the blanket falling off his chest.

"I don't want to go to sleep. I pretended until Nana went to sleep."

He pulled the child into his arms, "You need to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. The surgery is supposed to take a while."

"I'm scared," she whispered into his t-shirt.

Tears were soaking the thin fabric with the girl's quiet sobs.

"I know, me too," he rested his chin on her head.

"How do you stay so brave all the time? Daddy said that you weren't afraid of anything."

"I'm afraid of a lot of things. I know things are scary, but listen to me. He is not going to die."

Joanna nodded unsurly.

"Now young lady, you need some rest."

"What if the organs aren't ready?"

"Then we keep waiting," he responded matter-of-factly. "C'mon, lets at least lay down."

Jim scooted further into the sofa's soft cushions and waited for Joanna to to tuck herself into him before he drew the blanket over the both of them.

"Do I have to go to sleep?"

"Just lay here with your eyes closed if you don't want to sleep," his eyes were already closed.

"That's the same thing as sleeping."

"Nuh uh," he was already drifting off.

He felt like he had just closed his eyes when he felt a small hand shaking him, "Uncle Jim, Uncle Jim, get up."

" 'm up," he mumbled into his pillow.

"Hurry up, we have to get to the hospital before Daddy goes to surgery," the shaking intensified.

For sure Joanna belonged to her father; the shaking stopped for a few seconds and then the blanket was ripped off of him. The cold air of his apartment hit him and instantly sent him shivering. He was fully awake.

"If you weren't so damn adorable," he grumbled getting off the sofa.

"Good morning, Jim," Ellie greeted him from the kitchen. "I've made some biscuits we can take with us, and then a few other things to hold us over for a long day in the waiting room."

Jim noticed that Ellie seemed sprier than she had been during the past week. Today was a day of hope. McCoy had held on for them and his new lab-grown organs were finally ready for him. Ellie and Joanna were clearly waiting for him so he quickly dressed and brushed his teeth. There was a thermos of coffee for him to drink on the way to the hospital.

They made it to McCoy's room just in time to see him off, several nurses and orderlies were preparing him for the move to the OR. The bed was already hovering in the doorway so Jim picked Joanna up to lean over. She whispered something only he could hear and kissed his forehead.

Jim was hopelessly awkward in these situations, he had no idea what he was supposed to do here. He watched Ellie on the other side of the biobed reach down to grab her son's hand while pressing a delicate kiss to his stubbled cheek. The two women looked at him to see what he was going do.

He set his hand on his best friend's forehead, "You got this, Bones."

His reaction was satisfactory to earn him a smile from Ellie. The nurse that had been waiting quietly in the corner coughed softly. It was time; they moved away from the bed as the staff resumed their tasks. They followed the biobed as it was pushed out of the room and down the hall. The biobed disappeared into a turbolift and they were left standing in the middle of the hallway.

Saying that the wait was excruciating was an understatement. The food that Ellie packed did not last nearly as long as she anticipated once Chekov and Scotty realized how good the biscuits were, they disappeared within twenty minutes. Sulu was losing repeatedly to Spock at chess, while Carol and Uhura flipped through girly e-magazines with Joanna. That left him and Ellie staring down everyone who passed the waiting room for news. Jim had loaded a novel on his data pad, but it sat untouched on his lap and Ellie sat stoically, only moving to use the restroom quickly before returning to her seat.

It was weird, being the one having to sit there and wait for news. Granted McCoy never had to wait since he was always busy trying to patch him back up. He looked at his chronometer, six of the predicted seven to eight hours had passed agonizingly slow. A nurse had given them an update a few hours ago to say that things were progressing as scheduled and they'd be updated again later.

He reached for the cup of coffee he'd left untouched for the last hour to find it cold and unappealing, not that hospital coffee was ever appealing. His stomach churned just looking at the black tar.

"Jim, would you like some tea?" Ellie looked at him sympathetically.

"No ma'am," he really didn't want to leave his seat, in perfect view of everyone walking past the waiting room.

"Well, I would like some and I fear I might get lost on the way to the cafeteria. Why don't you come with me?"

The set up went completely over Jim's head; he rose out of the plastic chair. Muscles screamed and tendons snapped back into place from being stationary for so long. The rest of the crew, and Joanna, looked up at them but didn't say anything as they left.

"This hospital is nothing but a maze," Ellie commented as they twisted and turned down the sterile hallways that led to the cafeteria.

Again, Jim followed silently. Ellie led him to the cafeteria without a single mistake.

She walked up to the beverage dispenser, "Two teas, green, hot."

He mindlessly accepted the steaming cup that was handed to him.

"Jim? Jim?"

Blue eyes blinked, bringing him out of his daze, "Yeah?"

"Jim, are you alright?"

It was hard to look in her achingly familiar hazel eyes.

"I'm hanging in there," they were the same hazel eyes that were immune to his bullshit.

"Jim, he's going to be okay," Ellie stopped walking and turned to Jim.

"I know, it's just so hard waiting. I don't like it."

Ellie was leading them back to the waiting room, "No one likes waiting, Jim."

"I feel so helpless. I don't like not being in control."

Ellie stopped just out of earshot of those in the waiting room, "I seem to recall a time only a few years ago where Leonard was in a situation just like this. He had called me at the beginning, right after he left the ship with you when things were still...uncertain. He'd call every few days to let me know how you were doing, and then one day he called in absolute tears. He was so exhausted and ready to give up, he said that nothing he was doing was helping."

He could feel his ears burning, he was still ashamed of himself for what he'd put the man through during his recovery. Those had been dark days in his life, and the McCoys were one of the few reasons he made it past them.

"I promise you, Jim, you can do this," she grabbed his hand for emphasis. "C'mon, they should be done soon."

"Yes ma'am," he followed her to the others.

He no sooner sat down and there was a little girl plopping herself in his lap, narrowly avoiding spilling hot tea all over themselves, "Are you okay, Uncle Jim?"

"Yes Miss Joanna," he gave her a dazzling smile.

"Good," she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

She was too big to be held like this, but he couldn't let her go. He brought his to her complicated braids, courtesy of Carol and Uhura.

"She iz too adorable," Chekov looked up from the data pad he and Scotty had been poring over.

For all the watching he'd been doing, the moment he took his eyes off who walked by was when Philip Boyce walked in looking exhausted. He didn't even see the man himself, he saw Ellie sit up straighter and felt Joanna hold him tighter.

"The surgery was successful," the tired doctor sat on the low table in front of them.

###

A twitch under his hand pulled him out of the dreamless sleep he'd managed to drift off into. He lazily pulled his eyes open, forgetting for a moment where he was. Looking down he saw that Joanna was still asleep on his chest, and looking across the bed he saw that Ellie was fast asleep in the high-backed recliner. A deep sigh from the bed quickly reminded him why he was there. Hazel eyes were struggling to open.

"Bones?" Jim leaned in closer to the biobed.

His best friend was fully awake in an instant; "Jim?" his voice was weak with disuse.

"I'm here, Bones," he gave the hand under his a squeeze.

"Leonard?" Ellie had woken up.

Ellie gracefully brought a cup of water with a straw in it to her son's dry lips. He groaned when she pulled it away from him after several sips.

"You should know better," Ellie set the cup down.

McCoy licked his lips, "Jim?"

"Right here."

"You okay?" hazel eyes were scanning him for signs of injury.

"I'm fine, thanks to you."

McCoy nodded, "Good, you owe me a big one."

"I owe you more than that, Bones," Jim was teetering on the edge of full out weeping with relief.

"Daddy?" Joanna had woken up and turned her head on Jim's chest. As soon as she saw her father awake, she struggled to free herself from Jim's grasp but he held on.

McCoy extended an arm towards her, "Bring her here, Jim."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Bones. You just had some organs replaced a few days ago."

He got the sure to be patented 'McCoy eyebrow arch' and yielded quickly. He held Joanna over McCoy so she could wrap her arms around him without touching anything else.

"Daddy, I was so scared," the little girl sobbed into her father's neck.

"I'm better now, sweetpea," he clutched her tight. "Did Nana and Uncle Jim take good care of you?"

"Uncle Jim says we're going skiing when you're all better."

"We are, are we?"

McCoy tried to shift on the bed and ended up hissing in pain. Jim pulled Joanna away preemptively.

"Bones?" "Daddy?" "Leonard?"

"I'm fine sweetpea, I promise. Some idiot of a doctor hasn't quite got his dosages down pat yet."

"Leonard, do you want me to get the nurse?"

"No, no, just punch in ML-8B94A into that screen," McCoy pointed to the locked screen on the IV console.

"Leonard, what am I doing this for?" Ellie tabbed in what he said.

"Upping my lentanyl."

Ellie stopped what she was doing immediately, "Not so fast, young man. If you want something for the pain I'll call the nurse."

Jim couldn't help but chuckle while McCoy grumbled about his doctors, wincing in the process. Ellie tried to look like she disapproved but she was also trying to contain a smirk.

"Go find me my chart, it feels like they put something in backwards in there. I swear sometimes you just have to shit yourselves."

"Bones, you don't know how happy I am to hear you say that."

"That applies to you too, you little shit. If anyone is ever going to kill you, it's going to be me."

"Good to know, Bones," he smiled.

"Leonard, I'm going to go get the nurse and don't think that you're too old or sick to get it if I find out you so much as moved an inch when I get back."

"Yes, mother."

"And Jim, don't you go antagonizing him while I'm gone either."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ellie nodded sternly before leaving the room to find a nurse.

"Wow, she's a ray of sunshine," McCoy commented.

Jim looked at McCoy incredulously, "You have no room to talk."

"Daddy, are you and Uncle Jim fighting?"

McCoy rolled his eyes at Jim, "No sweetpea, we're just…"

"Bantering," Jim supplied with a smirk.

"Bantering."

"It's good to have you back, Bones, I don't know how you do it with all the waiting…"

"I trust you'll think twice about jumping in front of a phaser or some other shit now that you know how it feels."

Jim's radiant smiled dimmed, "Pot calling the kettle black?"

"Oh Lord, you've been around my momma too long."

"I can definitely see the family resemblance," Jim's words meant more than just their physical traits.

He'd never met anyone stronger than a McCoy.


End file.
